An excellent way to allow your dog to socialize in a healthy, safe way is to attend a play day at a doggie day care facility or a small, off-leash dog park, such as Arlington Park or Lakeview Park in Sarasota, or Brohard Beach Paw Park in Venice, FL, where owners can keep a closer eye on their dogs than they can at large parks. These are NOT recommended for socializing puppies. THE BEST place to socialize puppies is in an off-leash positive puppy class. Learn more about our puppy classes here.

Note: If your dog is too shy or fearful to interact with other dogs or humans, consider taking our Shy & Fearful Dogsclass first. If your dog is not human- or dog-friendly, please consider taking classes for this specific behavior problem such as our Terrible Teensclass or taking Private Lessonsto help him prepare for more social interaction.

One of the most important aspects of taking group classes with your dog is that you will both enjoy the benefits of human & canine socialization. This cannot be emphasized enough where your dog is concerned. He needs to interact with other dogs in order to have the necessary play activities that all dogs require as well as having the opportunity to communicate with dogs in a way that only dogs can. Other dogs will let your dog know which behaviors are appropriate and which are inappropriate. Additionally, your dog will learn from other dogs how to appropriately interact with humans. Of course, all play should be supervised.